Mam Mam Yong Tau Fu: Hakka-style & the best YTF I’ve had in Singapore, jumbo sets from $5.80
Mam Mam Yong Tau Fu by Chef Sebastian isn’t like most of the other food and hawker stalls that I have reviewed. Much of that has to do with the fact that it’s way out in Yishun. However, my visit did jolt me into realising that making a longer trip can be well worth it.
The stall is located in the Kedai Kopi Coffee Shop at 925 Yishun Central 1. Kedai Kopi Coffee Shop is a Muslim-friendly coffee shop chain that has outlets in Clementi, Haig Road and Ang Mo Kio as well.
One of the first things I noticed was that the place isn’t set up like a typical coffee shop. It’s still casual, yes, but there’s more warmth to the place. More care has been taken (and probably more money spent, too) on the tables and chairs for more comfort. The decor doesn’t feature the rigid sterile white tiling we are used to in regular coffee shops.
The Mam Mam Yong Tau Fu stall itself is a pleasant sight. It combines easy-to-read signage and bright lights illuminating the ingredients on display with the mellow colour scheme well. My dining partner and I were eager to start and ordered almost everything on the menu.
What I tried at Mam Mam Yong Tau Fu
Fun fact: “Mam Mam” is a colloquial term for “eat”.
This stall has a slightly more extensive range of ingredients than the typical yong tau fu stall.
By the end of the evening, I had decided that beancurd skin with fish paste, ngoh hiang, white tofu with fish chilli paste, meatball with beancurd skin, and you tiao with cuttlefish are essential for a good meal here.
Order à la carte and choose 6 items at S$0.80 each. 1 Plain Noodle and 5 pieces (S$4.80) is a good choice but you could also consider adding Laksa/Tom Yam (+S$1).
The Mam Mam Signature Style Set (S$5.80) is labelled a must-try and I agree! You have a choice of minced chicken with noodles (hakka noodle or Ipoh hor fun) or rice. That’s not the most important decision, though.
It’s choosing between the original chicken soup and spicy chicken soup. Each contains stock cooked for 10 hours. I found the spicy version the hands-down winner. Don’t get me wrong— the original soup is lovely, too, but the spicier version is miles ahead in terms of flavour.
In fact, I liked it so much more that I started transferring the yong tau fu ingredients from the original bowl to the spicy one. It had been raining non-stop that week and the meal did wonders for clearing my sinuses.
Also on our list was the Power Laksa. So, there I was, cooing away at the amazing spicy chicken soup when this fellow arrived. To my surprise, it jostled itself confidently into first place.
This bowl of laksa ran the full gamut of flavours I love from this classic local dish. With such solid back-up in the form of the beancurd variants and chilli with fish paste, it was no surprise. It had the perfect balance of coconut hints and spiciness.
The Hakka Noodle with Minced Chicken was yummy! Soft and flavourful, it is certainly one of my must-try recommendations with the amazing spicy chicken soup.
This is the Ipoh hor fun. As you can see from the picture, it is quite distinctly on the wetter side. Some people may love it that way but I really prefer the slightly drier version. The mushiness of it distracted from the taste which, on its own, was quite good.
Good as everything was, one bowl did fail to pass muster in my opinion. The flavours in the AuthenticTom Yam seemed to have gone awry, with too much intensity from certain ingredients. Instead of complementing each other, they competed for attention and detracted from the overall taste. I am looking at you, coconut milk and lemongrass.
Final thoughts
It’s a no-brainer that the freshness, flavour and quality of the yong tau fu ingredients are critical to the taste. It’s when they are built up by a solid base that a yong tau fu stall really excels. That’s what I found here.
No surprises that I am referring particularly to the the spicy chicken soup yong tau fu dish (with Hakka noodles) and Power Laksa. Both those bowls really made my day. A special mention goes to the hearty portions. Mam Mam’s Signature Style Set is definitely a full meal, even for big eaters.
In a nutshell, this is one yong tau fu dish I’m ready to mam mam any day!
Expected damage: S$5.80 – S$10 per pax
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10 food spots in Northpoint City that make Yishun great again
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